Closer
by amber505
Summary: *CatNip* A case leaves four CSIs in the middle of nowhere and Nick and Catherine get a little closer...


They had been driving for four hours straight. Until now, Nick Stokes had always liked the idea of being trapped in a car with Catherine Willows. Especially one with a spacious back seat…

Now that was something to leave to the imagination, and on past driving journeys with Catherine he had let his mind run wild. In fact, being anywhere with Catherine often his mind ran wild. But tired and behind the wheel of a Denali, Nick's imagination refused to concentrate on anything other than getting the hell out of the desert and getting some sleep.

Nick had been happy to volunteer for Sheriff Mobley's latest "I need all your CSIs out in the desert. Now!" demand. He enjoyed work, had nothing planned for the weekend and, if any more persuasion was needed, Catherine was going too.

As it happened, he didn't really have a choice about whether he was going or not. Apparently Warrick Brown was going to be accompanying Gil Grissom to a court case, leaving Sara Sidle, Greg Sanders, Catherine and Nick himself free to go. When the Sheriff said he wanted _all _CSIs out on this case, that's what he meant. In Grissom and Warrick's absence, that left the remaining four to take the trip to the middle of nowhere.

That very case in the middle of the desert was the reason why Nick later found himself falling asleep at the wheel with Catherine already asleep in the passenger side and Sara and Greg in the back drifting in-between sleep and a conversation about table lamps.

Their crime scene had been easily reachable on the way there. The case even looked easily solvable, securing a fast conviction which was obviously why the Sheriff had insisted on having all four of them present seeing as the preserved body found buried in the sand had turned out to be the step daughter of one his close friends. Friends of the Sheriff got special treatment. They had all learnt to deal with it. What had not been part of the deal was getting totally lost somewhere mid-desert mid-nearby town. Nick was too tired to care about whether they found their way back to Las Vegas or not. He had been playing with the idea of finding a motel for a while and the flashing vacancy sign in the window of one as they neared one of the small Nevada towns was the only persuasion he needed.

Unable to hear random drabbles about how Mama Olaf had an antique lamp collection, Nick guessed that Greg and Sara were asleep. He had presumed that Catherine was too and was considering what the best approach to waking her was when her eyes suddenly snapped open.

She took a dazed glance out of the window and then looked back at him. "We had better be at a motel."

Wondering if his imagination was back to emphasise the seductiveness in her voice, Nick said the only thing that came to mind. "Sara and Greg have stopped talking about lamps."

Catherine raised an eyebrow at him. "So, where are we?"

"Well…I'm not exactly sure…"

"You didn't get us lost, did you Nicky?"

Sensing the humour in her voice, Nick laughed a little. "I hope you don't mind spending the night here."

"Lindsey's at a sleepover and I defiantly don't have a personal life to get back to. So, no, don't mind at all."

He flashed the most awake smile he could manage, and then took a look at Sara and Greg in the back. Greg was fast asleep and leaning heavily against a now awake Sara's shoulder.

"Before you ask, yes I'm fine with staying at a motel but I am _not _sharing a room with him." Sara shoved Greg back into his own seat so hard it woke him up and he stared sleepily at the faces of his three colleagues who were eager to get into a comfy bed.

Before Sara's statement, Nick hadn't even thought about sleeping arrangements. Given the choice, he would have gladly offered to share with Catherine. But it didn't appear the thought had crossed anyone else's mind and he was clearly going to have to replace her with Greg.

After much complaining from Greg, the team entered the hotel lobby. A receptionist who looked about as awake as they did greeted them with a false smile and the smell of stale cigarettes.

"We'd like to book two twin rooms please." Nick told her.

The woman flicked carelessly through the log-book on the reception desk. "I'm afraid the best I can do is two double rooms. All our twin rooms are upstairs and a water pipe burst up there a few days ago. We're still repairing the damage."

"We'll take it." He said sleepily. No-one was awake enough to protest.

"Night boys." Catherine and Sara were entering their room when reality suddenly set in for Greg.

"Wait!" He yelled. "I can't share a bed with _him_"

"I don't snore." Nick offered. "Do you snore?"

Greg smiled, never too tired to miss an opportunity to flirt. "I've never had any complaints." He winked at Sara who just rolled her eyes and followed Catherine into their room.

Greg did snore. And not only that, every time Nick moved away from him, he would roll over and flop an arm over him. He wondered what Catherine was doing. Probably having a good night's rest. He guessed Sara didn't snore. The hard floor was becoming more appealing to Nick but no sooner had he dragged the covers off Greg and positioned himself on the floor did Greg's snoring worsen. He had no other option. He was going to have to go see Catherine.

How long had it been since they had got their rooms? An hour? Two? Either way, Catherine and Sara were probably both asleep now and Nick was aware he was risking his own life in order to get some sleep. Gently, he raised his hand to their door and knocked. He heard groaning and shuffling from inside and a groggy but still beautiful Catherine answered the door and few moments later. She stared blankly at him and he realised he hadn't explained his presence.

"Greg snores." He said mundanely, unable to manage anything else on account of seeing Sara rolled up in a spare blanket on the floor. So Catherine had the bed all to herself?

"Come in." Catherine sighed, stepping over Sara and sitting on the edge of the bed. "If you were looking for some floor space to crash on it looks like she beat you to it." She said, gesturing to the sleeping bundle. "Apparently I'm a bed-hog."

"Oh…" Nick said, positioning him himself awkwardly beside her on the empty bed.

Catherine saw the disappointment in his eyes. "But if Greg's snoring is really that bad…" She looked over the double bed. It was big enough to sleep two people but if Sara couldn't handle her stealing space, could Nick? And how exactly was she supposed to feel faced with the prospect of sharing a bed with him in the first place?

"I don't mind you hoarding the bed."

Even in the dark, Catherine could see his bright, but nonetheless sleep deprived, smile. "Okay. Pick a side."

Nick chose the side nearest the wall and climbed into bed. It felt strange to slip under the covers with him. There had always been an attraction but neither of them had done anything about it. Tired as she was, Catherine wondered how she was going to get any sleep laying next to Nick.

On the floor beside them, Sara stirred and rolled over. _Damnit Catherine, _the CSI reminded herself firmly, _this is not the time to be thinking about sex. _ Even if anything was to happen between them, Sara could easily wake up. That would certainly take some explaining. Catherine giggled to herself at the very thought and almost fell right out of the bed when Nick turned to face her.

"What's funny?" He whispered against his pillow.

He had rolled a little too far up and she knew that if she stretched her hand out she would be able to feel his skin against hers.

"Oh I was just thinking," she snapped out of those thoughts quickly, "if Sara wakes up. How will we explain…this?" She moved her hand across the space until it touched skin, unable to hold it in any longer.

The gesture made him shudder but he made no attempt to remove her cool fingers as they brushed along his arm. "We'll be honest." He said. "We'll tell her that Greg was snoring and that I came in here to get some sleep."

"But she had already claimed the floor space you had in mind." She said, as though reminding him that was the reason he _should _was there.

"Yes." He agreed, trying to take on that same level as confidence and reassurance when he spoke.

"Let's not even get into what we'll say if Greg finds out." She joked, turning so that she faced him completely with a gap between them both ached to close.

"He'd be jealous."

"Yep- sleeping so close to Sara."

"No…" Nick reached out and stroked her arm gently- a gesture that, in the lab or a crime scene, could have been passed off as platonic admiration- but whilst lying in bed beside her had a much stronger meaning. "I meant being so close to you."

The lack of light clouded what Nick could see of her reaction but he was sure she leaned into him with intent to finally do something about what was obviously between them. As he lowered his mouth to meet hers, Sara mumbled something in her sleep and he and Catherine sprang apart like teenagers caught making out by parents.

"We should…uh…" Nick started, embarrassed and extremely annoyed that their moment had been ruined for nothing. Sara was still fast asleep on the floor.

"Sleep?" Catherine suggested.

He smiled, though unsure if she could tell that or not. "Yeah…we should sleep."

"Goodnight, Nick." She slowly rolled back onto her side of the bed and thought about what had just happened.

After a few hours, Catherine still hadn't managed to find sleep. Every time she moved, she sensed Nick beside her and the very thought was enough to send her into an insomniac overdrive.

When the sun started to rise, she tossed her body onto the other side to avoid it and cling onto the last hopes of sleep. The surprise of seeing Nick just as awake as she was almost sent her sliding out of the bed. She imagined what Sara would think if she woke up because Catherine had landed on her. That situation was easily explainable without Nick's presence.

"You're awake too?" He asked, regretting it immediately. Of course she was awake.

In the light beginning to come in through the window on the far wall, Nick was able to see her smile.

"Yeah I just woke up." She lied, hoping he wouldn't be able to tell how tired she looked. And also that said tiredness wasn't having an effect on her beauty.

"Me too." He stretched, causing the bed covers to lift a little and reveal his naked torso.

Catherine was unable to stop herself staring. "Wow…you work out?" she asked without the intention of saying it out loud. Even so, she didn't think there was any harm in asking.

"Well, you know, I go to a gym every once in a while," he smirked and made a mock muscle for her with his left bicep.

She stroked her fingers up his arm and they both moved closer together….

And this scene was exactly what Sara awoke to see. It took her a few moments to adjust to the sunlight and then realise where she was. By this time, Nick noticed her open eyes and pulled his arm away from Catherine. "Sara….we were just…uh….Greg snores!" He explained, remembering the original reason he had come to their room. The fact that Greg had kept him awake was a poor excuse for why he and Catherine looked like they were about to rip what was left of their clothes from each other but he wasn't sure what else to say.

Obviously not believing a word of it, Sara sat up and pursed her lips a little but didn't say anything. "It's nearly six," she said plainly, "who wants to wake Greg?"

"I guess I should." Nick awkwardly climbed over Catherine and hurried back to his room.

Rising from the bed a few moments later, Catherine put her shirt back on and ran her fingers through her hair until it looked half decent.

"You know, I never noticed Greg snoring in the car." Sara said once they were both ready.

Catherine glanced at her reflection in the tiny mirror that was mounted on the wall. "Yes…well. You were asleep too. I guess you didn't hear him."

Whether Greg snored or not was irrelevant and both women knew it. Catherine just wasn't about to admit to anything that might or might not have happened between her and Nick and Sara wasn't about to question it.

Outside the room they found Nick and Greg waiting. Silently, all four returned to the lobby and checked out.

Catherine offered to drive this time. Maybe to keep her mind off Nick and all the possibilities they had missed. But even if things hadn't gone quite as she had hoped between them, she knew there were always other times and other motels…preferably without Sara and Greg.


End file.
